Writer wants to help military mom

Author Carolynn Amara is collecting Motherís Day cards for a bereaved Texas mom whose soldier-son died in Afghanistan. The first anniversary of the soldier’s death will be on Mother’s Day. Submitted photo

Roseville novelist Carolynn Amara never met Alex Hernandez III, a soldier from Texas who died in Afghanistan on May 12, 2012.

But Amara learned a fair amount about our young military men and women through her volunteer work with anysoldier.com and its care package program. As a writer, she felt compelled to tell their stories.

Last year, she came up with ``Unbroken,” and ``Unspoken,” two books about the fictional Ramirez family, Alex and his wife Anna and their four children, coping with the issue of post-traumatic stress disorder and the family’s livelihood that is in jeopardy.

She wrote the books in honor of the real Alex Hernandez, who died in Kandahar while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Amara said that the details of Hernandez’s life led her on ``an amazing journey.”

``I have a son around that age,” Amara said. ``Alex died for our country, and he was so very young.”

Hernandez’s mother is Traci Ortiz, who lives in Texas with her husband who is her son’s stepfather. On this upcoming Mother’s Day, Ortiz will mark the one-year anniversary of her child’s death.

Amara had some experience with bereaved parents from within her own family and knows that grieving people are afraid their deceased children will be forgotten.

``Maybe I’ve been blessed with some kind of insight into other peoples’ feelings,” she offered.

So the idea came to Amara to gather Mother’s Day cards to send to Ortiz so that she knows people remember and appreciate the sacrifices of her soldier-son. Amara is asking people to choose appropriate cards, sign them, add personal messages if they choose to, seal them, and mail them to her by May 1. The address is: Operation: Hugs from Heaven, P.O. Box 212, Fraser MI 48026.

There is a link to an online video tribute to Hernandez, with his photo and some background information, accompanied by a Kid Rock-Martina McBride song, ``Care,” as in, ``the least that I can do is care.” It is at http:// www. youtube.com/watch?v=PV2qNRahid8&feature=youtu.be

For information, there is an email address: ohfh2013@gmail.com

``Unbroken” came about last summer as a result of Amara’s participation in Camp NaNoWriMo during National Novel Writing Month. The ``camp” provides online support, tracking tools, and a hard deadline for writers working on a rough draft of a novel. It is a project of the Office of Letters and Light, and the Young Writers Program.

``I had had a conversation with a friend who was getting ready to come home from Afghanistan,” Amara said. ``And I thought, how in the world do you transition from one way of life where you are always on guard, to another?”

She said she wants the average American to think about what our military men and women and their families go through.

``PTSD is a war with no ribbons, no care packages,” she said. ``It is a war they were never trained to fight.”

She never expected her first book to be read by anyone besides her Facebook friends and family.

She had intended to share her stories with only them, but they started asking for more of the storylines, and the endings so she took it a step further.

``I’m just a lady in her basement pouring her heart into her novels, raising kids and working to survive,” Amara said. ``This story wasn’t, and never will be, about making money. It is about awareness and understanding, something we can all afford to give.”

All proceeds from the books are used to fund care packages to Afghanistan.

She did have some reservations at first about a delivery of Mother’s Day cards being too overwhelming for Ortiz but Hernandez’s stepfather gave his blessing and said there is support from his stepchild’s siblings.

``You don’t want someone else to see what you see as beautiful and have completely the opposite reaction. Sometimes you don’t know what to say or how to say it, and you don’t want to bring more pain,” Amara said. ``Alex became an integral part of my life. Even though I didn’t know him, I thought I had to do something more.”

She has gotten a lot of traffic on her Facebook page and link for the posted event about collecting cards. Cards are coming in.

``I am hoping all these people end up sending cards for Alex’s mother. I’ll put them all together, tie them up with a bow, and send them to her. As far as I know, she doesn’t have any idea that this is going on,” Amara said.

Where they came from – Amara – is intended to be anonymous, ``like a hug from heaven from her son.”